Gaming as an industry is massive. By 2020, it will reach a value of £1 billion, and many e this exponential growth to continue well into the next decade (at least). The evolution of technology ensures that the future of gaming is forever changing, and now, there’s an array of different platforms on which to game. PC gaming, however, remains strong though.

That’s because it connects a specific demographic and gives those players a global platform to join and play games. PokerStars is one example of such a global, multiplayer platform. With 100 million players around the world all connected and able to play the game of poker together on their platform, it takes a lot of power to make that happen. Similarly, other popular platforms, such as World of Warcraft and RuneScape, equally require a decent bit of processing power to run smoothly. Indeed, selecting the correct browser with optimum characteristics can go a long way in aiding with this process.

Overview of Web Browsers

Web browsers all do the same job, as they are the platform to help users get from points A to B. However, each has their specialties and deficiencies. For that reason, people often do have preferences between one browser and another.

The first browser (of sorts), called WorldWideWeb, debuted in 1990 from Sir Tim Berners-Lee. Microsoft and their own Internet Explorer browser entered the market early on, and due to the free rollout, it gained a lot of popularity. Microsoft almost held a monopoly over the market, with 95 percent of people using Internet Explorer in 2002.

Caption: Sir Tim Berners-Lee received a knighthood from the Queen in 2004 for his services in the global development of the internet.

As a long-time competitor of Microsoft, Netscape established the Mozilla Foundation to compete against the Internet Explorer. That culminated in Mozilla Firefox launching in 2004, a browser that peaked at 28 percent of the market share in 2011.

Apple, of course, has their infamous Safari browser, but you’ll find it almost exclusively on Apple devices, and is thus not commonly used by the wider internet user. Since 2012, the dominant force in the browser game has been Google Chrome. Launched in 2008, it is now comfortably the most popular browser used today.

So, that’s the current web browsing situation, but which browser is the best to install for gaming? Which web browser is best to install for gaming?

Regarding gaming on the internet via web browsers, certain characteristics of some browsers make them much better choices than others.

Google Chrome, for instance, is widely considered the industry leader, and this correlates over to the gaming side of things. The user interface of Chrome is something especially praised. So, regarding ease of navigation and accessibility, it is a clear favorite for when you’re loading up your chosen game. If there was one downside to Google’s browser, though, is that it uses lots of memory. However, this has somewhat rectified recently.

Alternatively, the once popular Mozilla Firefox is amid staging somewhat of a comeback within the web browser industry. After recently undergoing one of its biggest updates, Firefox now boasts quick speeds, comparatively speaking, and uses few system resources in the process.

Best of the Rest

The first of the other notable browsers is Opera. Despite possessing many of the functions of its competitors, it’s often overlooked — maybe since it has no global brand behind it, being created by a Norwegian firm, Opera Software. One excellent USP Opera has is that it optimizes online content and compresses it, ensuring the enhancement of browser speed. That is especially crucial for those with poorer internet connections, perhaps in rural areas.

As we look at Microsoft’s contribution to the industry, Edge offers quick speeds but is not common among users. Internet Explorer is far more ubiquitous and used to be the dominant browser in the market, yet its UI is notoriously awful, which has severely hindered any hope of replicating the 95 percent market share it enjoyed nearly two decades ago.

Regarding which is the best browser for gaming, there is no definitive answer. It will vary for each person depending on the game played and other external factors such as internet speed.

Conclusion

In general, though, Google Chrome is the way to go for an easy, stress-free host to a game. However, turn to Firefox or even Edge for the answer if you’re looking for something more powerful to handle perhaps a large database or heightened graphics.